Hestness says there was nothing about the scene to suggest a crime had been committed, but "the death of a young athlete is out of the ordinary."

"You only get one opportunity to handle a crime scene properly," he says, "so we're treating it as a suspicious death."

Tinsley's roommate called 911 around 7:40 this morning to report that Tinsley was on the floor, not breathing. Officers and EMTs were on the scene within minutes, and made a "heroic effort" to get him breathing, says Hestness. "They were unable to revive Tinsley."

Visibly upset, Gophers head coach Jerry Kill called it a "very, very sad day for the football program."

"We lost one of ours today, Gary Tinsley," said Kill. "Who I know is in a good place."

Tinsley was a senior at the University of Minnesota, originally from Jacksonville, Florida. He's been playing for the Gophers since 2008, and has started every game for the past two seasons. Tinsley was just weeks away from graduating.

"The most important thing in all this is Gary Tinsley's family and our players," said Kill. "And I love 'em all."

There was no information regarding funeral arrangements for Tinsley available today.